Continuous series of envelopes



Sept. 28, 1965 A. H. JoHNsoN CONTINUOUS SERIES OF ENVELOPBS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 5, 1963 //V VEA/70 m 5g E amm/50N MA1 772 @QA/Y I woooooooo/ooo Y A. H. JOHNSON 3,208,662

CONTINUOUS SERIES OF ENVELOPES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Vv V. M mv. E M MM m mi OK m o m CW T C T C an C $.N 0% B eww M 5 eww M A Mam T A Mam T O A O an? N N Rv T NNR ,T llllll i ,Mid @xsm. AO /O O O O O O O O O Sept. 28, 1965 FiledDGC. 5, 1965 United States Patent O 3,208,662 CONTINUOUS SERIES OF ENVELOPES Albert H. Johnson, 4 James St., Enfield, Conn. Filed Dec. 5, 1963, Ser. No. 328,364 3 Claims. (Cl. 229-69) This invention relates to envelopes and more particnlarly to a series of envelopes arranged in a continuous series for feeding successively to an addressing machine or typewriter or the like.

One feature of the invention is a continuous series of standard envelopes maintained in spaced relation to each ets in the tapes without the tapes bein-g attached directly to the envelopes.

",-On'e'felature .of the invention is an arrangement for interconnecting the feeding tapes located at opposite ends of the envelopes in such a manner that the connecting strip may also form a record for the information printed on the envelope as the ser-ies of envelopes is'fed through the machine. Another feature is the arrangement of the feeding tapes such that the pockets therein serve not only to support the envelopes in the continuous series but to maintain the proper space between the envelopes so that they will be uniformly spaced apart. One particular feature of the invention is an arrangementof the feeding tapes to accommodate opposite end portions of a standard envelope, these end portions being in some cases one end of the body of the envelope and the end of the sealing flap where the envelope, for example, is the conventional form of payroll envelope. Another feature of importance is that the spacing. and feeding tapes accommodate any of the type of envelope normally referred to as a conventional or standard envelope without the provision of supplemental flaps or projections by which the envelopes may be located on the feeding tape. l

One particular feature of the invention is a series of standard envelopes which have no accessory attachment aps for retention within the feeding tapes and which have no direct attachment to the tapes. Thus, the envelope with the information therein and thereon, ready for mailing, will be a conventional envelope with no frayed edges resulting from removal of accessory tabs or flaps and no visible roughened areas thereon resulting from pulling the envelope from the tapes. Y

Other features and advantages will be apparent from the specification and claims, and from the accompanying drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a series of conventional envelopes supported by the feeding tapes.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 1- but with a part of one of the feeding tapes removed.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view along the line 3-3 of FIG. l. v

FIG. 4 is a sectional view along the line 4-4 of FIG. l. FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. l showing a modification in which the' sealing ap is open rather than being folded against the back of the envelope.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing a payroll type of standard envelope supported by the feed-ing tapes. FIG. 7 is a sectional view along the line,7--7 of FIG. 6. FIG. 8 is a view showing a group of envelopes arranged in a package for supplying the envelopes in a continuous series to the addressing machine.

Referring first to FIG. l, each envelope 2 is a standard envelope and has a front panel 4 and aback panel consisting of side aps 6 and 8, a bottom flap 10 and a sealing ICC flap 12, the latter being folded against but not adhered to the remainder of the back panel. The envelope, as described, is a standard form of mailing envelope which is produced in a very large quantity and is commonly known in the trade as one of the standard forms.

The series of envelopes 2 are arranged in a continuous ser-ies and are maintained in spaced relation to each other by spaced tapes 14 and 16 which overlie the opposite ends of the envelope and which form pockets 18 when the tapes are pressed into contact with a continuous backing sheet 20. The latter projects beyond the tapes 14 and 16 and .has a row of uniformly spaced perforations 22 for use in feeding the assemblage of envelopes to the machine. The tapes 14 and 16 have adhesive 24 on the under side thereof and the backing sheet 20 has strips of adhesive 26 extending lengthwise of the sheet or web 20 adjacent opposite edges. These strips 26 and the portion of the backing sheet underlying the strips constitute tapes on the back of the series of envelopes in a position to cooperate with the tapes 14 and.16 on the front of the series of envelopes. The backing sheet or web accordingly is integral with the tapes on the back of the envelope and constitutes a connecting web between these tapes. This adhesive is one of the conventional latex adhesives or heat sealing adhesives such that the adhesives will adhere to each other around the ends of the envelope but will not adhere to the envelope itself. Thus, the positioning of the tapes 14, 1-6 over the ends of the envelope, as shown, will result in the formation of the pockets 18, FIG. 2which receive the ends of the envelopes but do not have any adhesion of the tapes or the backing sheet to the envelope.

These pockets are individual for each envelope, as shown in FIG. 2, since the area of the adhesive strip 26 between and not covered by adjacent envelopes will be in contact with and adhere to the adhesive on the overlapping tape to forrn a space 30 to hold adjacent envelopes in selected spaced relation, one to another. With this a-rrangement, the plurality of envelopes are maintained in spaced relation to each other but without any direct adhesion of the tapes to the envelopes and without the necesv sity for modification of the standard envelope in any way. It will be apparent that with this arrangement the envelope may be fedcontinuously and successively through a typewriter or addressing machine or the like for the printing of addresses or other information thereon for mailing or for placing of other information on these envelopes.

After the series of envelopes has been fed through the addressing machine, the envelopes may be quickly removed from the tapes by providing a series of perforations 32 longitudinally of the backing strip. Thus, pulling the opposite edges of the backing strip apart will withdraw the pockets from enclosing relationship to the ends of the envelope. In arranging this continuous series of envelopes in a package, `the series may be zig-zag folded with two envelopes, for example, in each fold, the fold lines being along the dot-dash lines 34.

In the modification of FIG. 5, the conventional envelopes are arranged with the sealing flaps open rather than closed, as in FIGS. l and 2. In this arrangement, the envelopes 42 are received in pockets 44 provided by spaced overlying tapes 46 and 48 and by cooperating underlying tapes 50 and 52. It will be apparent that the pockets formed must accommodate not only the end of the envelope but a portion of the sealing flap as well. By using a form of adhesive that adheres only to itself or to a similar adhesive, the pockets are formed by the application of the tapes to one another with the envelope in position therebetween. In this arrangement, the tapes are not interconnected by a continuous backing sheet since under certain instances it is not essential that the tapes be held in spaced relation to each other.

It'inay be desirable to have some means for preventing accidental separation of the tapes with resultant loss of the envelope from the pockets. To do this the inside surface of the sealing flaps of certain envelopes, for example, every second or third envelope in the series may have a small` spot of adhesive 53 connecting the flap to the tape and thus holding the tapes in a position to retain the envelope ends in the pockets. When the envelopes have passed through the machine for which the continuous series is adapted, the deliberate separation of the tapes will pull these spotsof adhesive from the envelope without damage thereto. Moreover, should the paper surface of the envelope at the points where these spots of adhesive are located be roughened by pulling away of the adhesive, this area will be concealed when the sealing flap is closed.

Where the sealing flap is extended as in this arrangement, the fold lines for packaging the continuous series of envelopes 'are along dotted lines 54 which will not coin- Cide with the fold line forthe sealing flap nor will it extend through the sealing flap being located as it is between the tip of one sealing ap and the bottom edge of the adjacent envelope.

The modification of FIG. 6 is a further variation in which a series of standard pay roll envelopes 62 are arranged in a continuous spaced-apart series for feeding to an addressing type of machine. As shown in this figure, the envelope consistsof a front panel 64, a back panel 66 made up of side flaps 68 and 70 and a bottom flap 72,

and a sealing flap 74, the latter extending from the free edge of the front panel of the envelope. In this particular type of standard envelope the sealing ap has an area of adhesive 76 for the purpose of sealing the envelope closed. In this form of envelope, in positioning the envelope withinthe feeding tapes, the bottom edge of the envelope is considered as one end of the envelopeand the tip of the sealing flap is the other end of the envelope and it is these two ends of the envelope that are located by the feeding tapes. v

The tape arrangement consists of spaced upper tapes 78 and 80 overlying the bottom tapes 82 and 84 which, as with the tapes above described, have cooperating lengthwise strips ofy latex or heat sealing adhesive thereon. When the tapes are pressed together with the envelopes in position, as shown, the adhesive on the tapes in adhering the tapes together forms pockets 86 to receive the opposite ends of the envelopes without directly adhering to the envelope. The opposite feeding tapes at opposite ends of the envelopes are held in spaced relation to each other to retain the pocket in position in the envelope by overlying paper strips 88, there being one paper strip for each envelope preferably the width of the envelope. The ends of these strips 88 are' secured to the upper tapes 78 and 80 and, as shown, overlie the individual envelope.

lA portion of the pay roll envelope may carry printed information leaving blanks for insertion of the employees name, the hours worked and the amount of pay earned, as shown for example in FIG. 6, and the overlying portion of the strips 88 will carry this same pertinent material. Thus, in feeding the continuous series of envelopes through the machine, the information for each individual employee will be printed on that employees envelope and a record of that information will appear on the overlying portion of the strip 88. lTo facilitate the transfer of the information to the underlying envelope, the portion of the strip 88 on which the printed information appears may be carbon backed as at 90. Thus, in this arrangement the standard envelope may be mounted vin a seriesarrangement by supporting spaced perforated feeding tapes without any modification whatever of the standard envelope and without any adhesive connection between the tapes and the envelopes. After the series of envelopes have had all of the desired information typed thereon, the envelopes may be separated from the tapes and the overlying strips 88 by pulling the tapes apart thereby separating the strips along the spaced rows of perforations 92. 1n this way, the section of each strip 88 carrying the typed information thereon is readily separated from the remainder of the strips and from the tapes to which the strips are attached.

The arrangement of FIG. 8 shows a plurality of envelopes arranged in the continuous series which are folded to form a compact package by which the envelopes may be delivered to the user and also positioned in the machine in which the envelopes are to be used.

he envelopes are. held in desired relation between spaced feeding tapes which consist of the overlying tape secured to the underlying tape, the latter in FIG. l being made up of opposite edges of the backing sheetk 20, with the pockets holding the envelopes in position and, if desired, with a transverse interconnection, at least at spaced points, between the tapes to maintain the ltapes in the proper spaced relation to keep the envelope ends in the pockets.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiment herein illustrated and described, but may be used in other ways without departure from its spirit as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A series of standard envelopes arranged in spaced relation to one another for feeding continuously and suecessively to a machine, and a pair of cooperating tapes arranged along each of the opposite edges of the series of envelopes to hold them in spaced relation, the tapes of each pair being located on opposite sides of the envelopes of the series and overlapping the ends of the envelopes, said tapes of each pair being substantially continuously secured together lengthwise of the tapes where the tapes overlie one another beyond the ends of the envelopes and being secured together transversely across the entire width of the overlying portions of the cooperating tapes between adjacent envelopes therehy to form, between the pair of tapes, longitudinally spaced pockets corresponding in shape and dimension to the ends of the spaced envelopes and receiving the ends of the envelopes to retain them in spaced relation to one another without adhesive attachment of the tapes to the envelopes.

2. A series of envelopes as in claim 1 in which a connecting web is located on one side of the series of envelopes and extends between the pairs of tapes at opposite edges of the series of envelopes to retain the pairs of tapes in predetermined spaced transverse relation with the envelopes located in the pockets, the connecting web being integral with the tapes on the same side of the series of envelopes as the web.

3. A series of envelopes as in claim 1 in which a plurality of transversely extending strips extend between and are secured to the pairs of tapes at opposite edges of the series of envelopes, said strips corresponding in spacing to the envelopes and serving to hold the pairs of tapes in spaced transverse relation to one another and with the envelopes located and retained in the pockets.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,013,844 9/35 Sherman 229-69 2,192,268 3/40 Lane et al.

2,338,922 l/44 Fleming 229-69 2,723,076 11/55 Whitman 229-69 2,723,077 1l/55 Whitman 229-69 2,987,327 7/61 Carmichael 229-68 FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Primm Examiner,

GEORGE O. RALSTON, Examiner. 

1. A SERIES OF STANDARD ENVELOPES ARRANGED IN SPACED RALATION TO ONE ANOTHER FOR FEEDING CONTINUOUSLY AND SUCCESSIVELY TO A MACHINE, AND A PAIR OF COOPERATING TAPES ARRANGED ALONG EACH OF THE OPPOSITE EDGES OF THE SERIES OF ENVELOPES TO HOLD THEM IN SPACED RELATION, THE TAPES OF EACH PAIR BEING LOCATED ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE ENVELOPES OF THE SERIES AND OVERLAPPING THE ENDS OF THE ENVELOPES, SAID TAPES OF EACH PAIR BEING SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUSLY SECURED TOGETHER LENGTHWISE OF THE TAPES WHERE THE TAPES OVERLIES ONE ANOTHER BEYOND THE ENDS OF THE ENVELOPES AND BEING SECURED TOGETHER TRANSVERSELY ACROSS THE ENTIRE WIDTH OF THE OVERLYING PORTIONS OF THE COOPERATING TAPES BETWEEN ADJACENT ENVELOPES THEREBY TO FORM, BETWEEN THE PAIR OF TAPES, LONGITUDINALLY SPACED POCKETS CORRESPONDING IN SHAPE AND DIMENSION TO THE ENDS OF THE SPACE EN- 